The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1887-01-15
SUGGESTIONS FOR DIR. WITHRow.

byterian Church. This is the same
gentleman, who, in his sermon at Des
Moines, uttered the lovely sentiment in
view of the Andover controversy, ''The
church has no time to waste on dead
Pagans." DR.. Withrow, while for some
years past the pastor of Congregations
al church, in no way sympathizes with
the Progressive orthodoxy" of the
Congregational body, and is as grim and
determined defender of the Calvin
istic doctrine as is possible for any one
to be at the present day. In an inter-
view last week he stated, evidently
with considerable pride, that his for
mer church, IN Boston, is called "Brim-
stone Corner )" but that name was Civ
en- to the Park Street Church long be-
fore the days of DR. Withrow, although
it must be admitted, that under his
ministry its orthodoxy, which waned
considerably under Rev. w. I'll. H.
Murray, has become again well estab-
lished and is now as unimpeachable as
that of DR.. Withrow himself. He de-
scribes his position as that of "a moder-
ate high churchman or evangelical con-
sentative" His ministry doubtless will
reveal features which will explain this
description of his own attitude. DR..
WithrOw brings only orthodox wares
to the Chicago market. There will be
no coquetting with the "New Theolo-
gy'' in the Third Church pulpit under
his passionate. 1t will be dispensation
of the straight-out Calvinistic be-
lief. ''Presby terianism throughout the
world" says DR.. Morris, of Lane Theo-
logical Seminary, "may be said to be, in
an eminent sense, doctrinal- doctrinal
because it is Calvinistic." In this sense
DR.. Withrow will preach doctrinal SER
mons, and Calvinism, pure and pro-
found, will form the staple of his min
istry.
The advent Of learned, aggressive
and eloquent preacher of the true blue
Calvinism is an event which will be
viewed with considerable interest by
the liberal people of Chicago. There Is
need for proclamation of the actual
creeds of the churches. They are held
too much in allegiance for the good of
the world. The ancient doctrines need
to be brought vigorously to the front,
that people may see and understand
them. The best thing DR.. Withrow
could do to inaugurate his Western
ministry would be to preach few dozen,
more of less, of discourses on the West
minister Confession and Catechisms,
which DR.. Philip Schaff says, 'present
the ablest, the clearest and the fullest
statement of the Calvinistic system of
doctrine" AS it would be well to begin
at the beginning, a few sermons from
the pulpit of the Third Church on the
damnation of "unelect infants" which
that Confession assumes, would be some
thing refreshing in the latitude of Chi
cago. The orthodox pulpit generally,
and the Presbyterians in particular,
have fought shy of this topic for long
period of time. Yet, in the Westminis-
ter Confession, chap. x, ill.,, iv, we find
the doctrine very clearly assumed if not
directly stated. We give the passage
for convenience Of reference
SELECT infants dying in infancy are re-
generated and saved by Christ, through
the Spirit who worketh when and where
and how he pleaseth. So also are all
other elect persons who are incapable
of beingoutwardly called by the ministry
of the word.
"Others, not elected although they may
be called by the ministry of the word and
may have some common operations of the
Spirit, yet they never truly come to Christ,
and therefore cannot be saved"
1t would be we'll for DR.. Withrow, as
prominent teacher of Calvinism, and
in view of the fact that many babies
will be born each year in the families of
his large Presbyteri congregation
the second or third largest in the country
to hold up the teaching of the Confess
sion unerringly in this regard, so that
Presbyterian parents may not fall into
the mistake of believing that their little
ones are sure Of heaven even while "dy-
ing in infancy" The matter has been
allowed to lapse with cruel indifference.
Parents should not be allowed to run
away with the idea that infancy is a
passport to heaven, and they should be
encouraged to seek for the indubitable
sign of election before they allow them
selves to cherish hopes that are impossi-
BILE of realization. Perhaps DR.. With.
row may be able to give parents thus in
doubt as to the fate of their unelect off
spring, some comfort in the premises.
If so, our suggestion will, we are sure,
be taken kindly by those most inter-
ested.
DR.. Withrow, we know, is entirely
sound on the matter of the fate of the
heather, and his pronounced opinions
as to their damnation, dying without
Christ, we we'll know. But in view of
the current Andover controversy, and